My 7 year old son's first deer

My 7 year old son used a .223 AR to shoot his first deer this morning.
We used a ground blind and a tri-pod rest.
Two deer showed up, he was paitent and waited for a good shot on the bigger one.
He shot his first deer on his first day of hunting - ever.
The doe was just 15 yards away and went only 20 yards after the shot.
Rifle is a Windham SRC with a Bushnell TRS-25 red-dot.
He used my handload, a 60 gr. Nosler Partition chronographed at 2,807 fps from a 16'' barrel.
The bullet made small entry and exit holes, but did significant damage to both lungs.
Awesome. :D

If you enjoyed reading about "My 7 year old son's first deer" here in TheHighRoad.org archive, you'll LOVE our community. Come join TheHighRoad.org today for the full version!

TAKtical

October 13, 2012, 02:25 PM

Thats awesome. Thanks for sharing.

Centurian22

October 13, 2012, 02:31 PM

Wow!!! Congrats to you and your son. Awesome shot and work. Can't ask for more than that on a first trip ever!

jbkebert

October 13, 2012, 02:34 PM

The smile and face paint make it. Congrats dad on a pretty cool day.

Andrew Leigh

October 13, 2012, 02:46 PM

Awesome, congrats to both of you. You son is simply beaming, lovely.

JEB

October 13, 2012, 02:52 PM

very cool! EXCELLENT shot by the way!

Renegade Ziggy

October 13, 2012, 03:56 PM

Congrats! Looks like you've got a born hunter on your hands. :D

ChefJeff1

October 13, 2012, 10:59 PM

Awesome, I bet he's hooked for life. Hopefully there will be a long box under the Christmas tree this year.

critter

October 14, 2012, 05:56 AM

Good memories for you both! Congrats!

wyohome

October 14, 2012, 06:34 AM

The smile and face paint make it.He looks like a miniature Larry D. Jones :D Good work, love to see the women and children out there.

CDW4ME

October 14, 2012, 10:07 AM

Awesome, I bet he's hooked for life. Hopefully there will be a long box under the Christmas tree this year.

The rifle he used is "his" rifle; I bought it earlier this year specifically for him to hunt with this fall.

We have had several brief practice sessions over the spring & summer in preparation for that shot.

Thanks for all the replies.

Curt Blunt

October 15, 2012, 01:31 PM

Just curious. How many rounds were in the magazine?

pikid89

October 15, 2012, 01:33 PM

Doesnt get much better than that.
Some of my favorite memories growing up were when i went hunting with my dad

ridgerunner1965

October 15, 2012, 09:04 PM

your sons first deer is a memorable event. ill never forget the shot my son made at about 8 yrs old on his first doe.he killed deer every year after that but when he was 15 he shot the biggest deer ive ever seen in the wild.a huge wide tall 9 point.we were hunting seperatly at that point. he waited and made a very difficult shot at 175 yrds with little time.ive never seen a kid more excited!or dad lol. make them memories!

CMC

October 16, 2012, 02:34 PM

That is a 5 round mag.
Looks like the one I got, made by stoner.
Congrats

BP44

October 16, 2012, 03:28 PM

Congrats, to you and your son. :)

horsemen61

October 16, 2012, 04:00 PM

nice shot good work now time to eat it

todayshighlights

October 16, 2012, 05:17 PM

It's hard to not have fun with camo face paint in the woods. Big Congrats

41 Mag

October 17, 2012, 06:13 PM

:D:D ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC !!! :D:D

Congrats to the both of you I know it was certainly a team effort.

I did similar with my oldest grandson when at age 3 he decided he wanted to shoot him a hog. Well two weeks before his 4 birthday at the end of that year he did just that.

Now I have his two younger brothers coming up under him. Right now though neither of them is quite up to getting it done. We're workin on it though.

Curt Blunt

October 18, 2012, 02:18 PM

CMC, it also looks like my Stoner 10 rounders. Call me old fashioned but I would be leery of having a seven year use a semi-auto with a loaded mag, even under adult supervision, given the excitement of a hunt.

gspn

October 18, 2012, 07:22 PM

Congrats to the both of you! You can't beat that time in the field with a kid. Good job dad!

gspn

October 18, 2012, 07:34 PM

...

c01

October 18, 2012, 07:49 PM

Outstanding!!!

CDW4ME

October 20, 2012, 01:27 PM

CMC, it also looks like my Stoner 10 rounders. Call me old fashioned but I would be leery of having a seven year use a semi-auto with a loaded mag, even under adult supervision, given the excitement of a hunt.

That is a 10 round magazine and it is legal here.

However, I only had it loaded with 7 rounds, for good luck.

My son has had many short practice sessions with that rifle for several months; I typically limited shooting to less than 5 rounds per session in an attempt to prevent him from getting kicked too much or developing bad habits. At the minimum, he had put 50+ practice rounds through the rifle prior to the hunt.
We started out with just one live round, followed by a dummy round (of my making) untill he consistently got his finger off the trigger after the first shot.
Also, the trigger on the rifle is heavy and requires a very deliberate pull.
We practiced at 35 yards since I knew I would set him up for about a 25 yard maximum shot; (as an experienced bowhunter I know how to set-up for a close range shot). Prior to our hunt, he had successfully kept his shots on a 6'' circle at 35 yards, for the last practice sessions.

We went hunting again the next afternoon (after his successful day) and he was presented with a brief 15 yard shot on another doe. The doe stopped broadside and he snicked off the safety, but couldn't quite get himself completely ready in time. After the doe walked off, I asked him why he did not shoot. He said, "She was moving". I congratulated him on passing a shot he was not ready to make. My 7 year old displayed more self-control than many adults.

The first words out of his mouth after shooting his first deer was, "I hope my brother gets one too".
His brother is 8 years old and had gone to a different spot with my wife. It was my older son's first time hunting too. He sat for nearly three hours that morning and saw nothing; he went hunting another 3 hours the following afternoon and saw nothing again.

I hope to start a thread titled, "My 8 year old son's first deer" next month.

hoghunting

October 20, 2012, 02:01 PM

Very impressive for a 7 year old, not only the shot, but being extremely quiet with a deer only 15 yds away - I know some adults that can't do that. Congratulations

wgaynor

October 21, 2012, 08:13 PM

No Way! All the posts I ever read on hear state that .223 only bounces off the deer...

Good job on taking him hunting and good job on him for taking a nice deer.

If you enjoyed reading about "My 7 year old son's first deer" here in TheHighRoad.org archive, you'll LOVE our community. Come join TheHighRoad.org today for the full version!